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She was practically vibrating with glee. "Emma! Guess what? Adrian got fired!"
She shoved her phone at me, showing a grainy, likely reposted video.
The person filming stood near university dorm buildings, zooming in on a figure perched precariously on a rooftop ledge.
A long-haired girl held a megaphone, screaming something unintelligible into it.
The scene was chaotic, snippets of conversation audible:
"Who isthat girl? Never seen her."
"You don't know? That's Chloe Richards. Supposedly the med school beauty queen."
"What's she yelling? Can't make it out."
"My boyfriend's in med school. Heard all the gossip ages ago. Apparently, she was hooking up with one of the professors. Thought she could kick out his wife and take her place. Turns out the professor wasn't interested. Heard they got physical. Guess she couldn't handle rejection, pulled this stunt to threaten him."
"Jesus, that's messed up. Homewrecking is low."
"And the guy's no saint either. Shh, look, he's here."
The camera wobbled downward, focusing on a figure: Adrian Miller.
Beside him were university administrators and firefighters.
They were trying to calm Chloe while inflating a massive airbag below.
Chloe's voice, amplified and tearful, boomed over the megaphone: "ADRIAN MILLER! YOU USED ME! YOU SLEPT WITH ME AND NOW YOU WON'T EVEN ADMIT IT! I JUST WANT YOU TO ACKNOWLEDGE ME! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT? BEFORE YOU SAID YOU WERE MARRIED! NOW YOU'RE DIVORCED! WHY STILL SAY NO?!"
"NO ONE HAS EVER SAID NO TO ME BEFORE! YOU BETRAY ME, ADRIAN? YOU'LL REGRET IT!"
A university official shoved the megaphone into Adrian's hands, urgently gesturing for him to talk her down.
Adrian stood rigid, unmoving. From that distance, I couldn't see his expression clearly, only the administrator's frantic, pleading gestures.
Chloe grew increasingly agitated. She suddenly hurled the megaphone down.
A long, tense silence followed.
Finally, Adrian raised the megaphone to his lips.
His amplified voice cut through the air, cold and final: "I NEVER TOUCHED YOU. WE NEVER CROSSED THAT LINE. AND I WILL NEVER MARRY YOU."
The moment the words finished echoing, Chloe leaped.
Gasps and screams erupted.
The video cut off abruptly as firefighters rushed forward.
I was stunned. "What happened to Chloe?"
"Oh, she's fine," Sophie snorted derisively. "Bad pennies always turn up. Snapped an arm, apparently. Resting comfortably in hospital now. Her parents went ballistic. Raised hell at the university demanding answers. Threatening to sue Adrian's ass off."
The fallout was huge. The details were murky, probably settled with money. Around the same time, whispers surfaced about Adrian pushing live-subject experiments on students. The scandal was explosive, quickly suppressed, but his reputation was ash. Fired. Future employment prospects? Severely damaged.
Sophie slapped her thigh in satisfaction. "Serves him damn right! Karma's a bitch!"
I just smiled faintly. It didn't feel like my business anymore.
The name "Adrian Miller" felt like a vaguely familiar stranger now. Talking to Sophie about him, I felt nothing but a detached sense of absurdity.
"Oh hey," Sophie added, her tone suddenly serious, "has he tried contacting you? Like, for real? I'm kinda worried, Em. Guy's got nothing left to lose. Wouldn't put stalking past him."
I thought for a moment. "Haven't noticed anything."
But I doubted he would. Adrian was pride incarnate. Utterly defeated, he'd sooner crawl into a hole than show his face asking for help. If he was watching, it wouldn't be from the sidewalk.
"Don't blow it off, Em," Sophie insisted, her voice earnest. "Stay aware, okay?" Then her expression shifted, a mischievous grin spreading. "Then again, maybe I'm worrying over nothing. Dr. Cole isbasically your personal bodyguard now."
I laughed and playfully scolded her. Just then, my phone pinged. A message from Benjamin.
"Speak of the devil," Sophie crowed, nudging me. "Well? What's the good doctor say?"
"Says he wants to take youout to dinner," I replied, rolling my eyes and pulling her towards the stairs.
"Well, look at you! Not completelyblinded by love yet!" Sophie threw an arm around my shoulders, laughing. "I'm gonna eat you both out of house and home
